[1] Wheel graduated from Bryn Mawr College[2] and was trained in theater lighting and production, working under Jean Rosenthal at the New York City Ballet before moving into architectural lighting design and co-founding the firm Wheel-Garon Inc. She was one of the first women to practice architectural lighting design full-time.
[3] Her work focused primarily on hotel and hospitality design, and she was known for her skill in creating warmth and intimacy through light.
[3] Wheel was a founding member and past president of the International Association of Lighting Designers and the first person to receive its Lifetime Achievement Award.
She was a founding member and past director of the Nuckolls Fund for Lighting Education and a former director of the Lighting Research Institute.
[3] After her death, the Nuckolls Fund established an annual grant in her name for an introductory lighting program at a college or a university.